Monday, December 31, 2012

One of them is to experiment with more non-dessert recipes. You know, entrees, soups, salads. Things that you can (and should) be eating for lunch or dinner. Today I commented on facebook that I was pretty sure that the socially acceptable window of eating cookies for breakfast was closing. It seems a lot of my friends feel the same.

But it's only New Year's Eve Day. There is still time to splurge before you dive into your vegetable-loving, gym-visiting, latte-skipping resolutions. Every one knows that New Year's Day is your day to recover and get it all out of your system before everything really starts on January 2.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

I did most of my Christmas baking early this year, so I had cookies ready at the drop of a hat for any situation. Unexpected drive by cookie-ing? Did it. Cookies to work. Cookies to friends. Cookies in the mail. And then right before Christmas I felt it was time.

Time to make more cookies.

My goal with holiday baking is that I give all the treats away and start the new year fresh. Last night I took the last of these cookies to a friends house.

Mission: Accomplished

So what is a snurtle?

It's a snickerdoodle with caramel and a pecan. A snickerdoodle turtle. Deliciousness.

I finally visited Hammond's Candy﻿, and they offer some of their candy in "Oops" format. It's not pretty, but it's tasty. During their Candy Cane Festival, they offered Oops bags of their vanilla caramels for $1. That's a lot of soft, creamy caramel for a steal. So I had caramel on hand for snurtling.

Combine all the ingredients for the cookie coating in a small bowl - you will use this to roll your cookies.

Roll your chilled dough into balls (about the diameter of a quarter) with your hands and then roll in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. If you're just going to make snicker doodles, set them on the baking sheet.

If you're going to make snurtles, press a small ball of caramel (no bigger than a dime) into the center of the cookie and top with a pecan half. Press the pecan and caramel into the cookie - if you just let is rest on top the caramel and pecan will slide to the side while the cookie bakes.

Check out this picture to get the snurtle idea:

Whether you snickerdoodle or snurtle it up, bake your cookies for about 8 minutes. Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then let them cool on a wire rack. They will be soft (yum!).

Sunday, December 23, 2012

I open Mom's freezer and these just "fell" at my feet. Sandwich cookies with crushed up candy canes in the filling. I've only known these existed less than 24 hours, and I've already crushed them up on top of my Whitey's Peppermint Stick ice cream (with fudge, of course) as well as dipping them in my coffee.

Friday, December 21, 2012

(This traveler is preparing to head out for the holidays and is hoping to share one or two more recipes before leaving one land of snow for another)

Toffee Bars have been a Christmas tradition in my family for years. Probably because they are much easier than making toffee. I found this recipe two years ago and it my new fave. They are easy and are the first to be snagged out of the cookie tin.

Merry Christmas!

What You Need

1 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (or walnuts, if you prefer)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted and divided

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 (14oz can) sweetened condensed milk (regular or fat-free)

2 teaspoons vanilla

*check out my new Mexican vanilla below....yay!

1 (12oz) bag of chocolate chips

chopped pecans for garnish

What You Do

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13x9 inch pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the milk. Cooki and stir until mixture thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Pour evenly over crust.

(pause)

There are two fun new things in this photo. When I was on my cruise in November, I picked up a bottle of vanilla while in Cozumel. It is so good and this huge bottle was less than $10. As a part of OXO's blogger outreach program, OXO sent me a free set of 4 mini beakers, which are perfect for measuring liquids. Like vanilla. Or alcohol. You know, whatever you need at the time. I've had fun using these new cooking toys this Christmas.

(and now back to the recipe)

You've poured the milk/vanilla mixture over your crust, now you're going to bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown. When you pop those bars out of the oven sprinkle the bag of chocolate chips over the top, let them stand for a minute or two until they melt. Spread with a knife or offset spatula and then sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave (use low heat and stop and stir every 20-30 seconds....you can go too far and it will burn and start to smell before you know it) . Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over cookies. While chocolate is still wet, sprinkle cookies with crushed candy cane.

Recipe Source: I found this great recipe over on Eat Live Run. I made the adjustment in flour due to altitude and made smaller cookies, I ended up with about 45.

Cookie Love and Merry Christmas from Traveler in the Kitchen!

The cookie madness continues! Today I got my third and final arrival of cookies. These praline cookies from Sweet Jeanette﻿ arrived today. They had a long journey from warm Florida to snowy Colorado but were worth the wait. Will there be any left by the time I'm done watching The Voice tonight? I couldn't even spare a whole cookie for the picture, I had already started snacking.

In other good news on a Monday, Passports with Purpose successfully raised $100k for wells in Haiti in partnership with water.org. This holiday season if you have a few extra dollars, please consider donating to a charity that you believe in. Giving to someone you may never meet is one of life's greatest gifts.

Monday, December 10, 2012

For some reason, I had Lake Tahoe on the brain this weekend. Maybe it was the cold, snowy weather, reminding me that although I love mountains in the winter (hello skiing, hot tubs, and cocktails), they are also beautiful in the summer. When I lived in Tahoe, I loved the summers so much more than the winter. When I went back this summer for a long weekend, I wanted to stop at some of my favorite summer places. Including Jake's on the Lake.

Nothing like sitting on their patio overlooking the wonder that is Lake Tahoe and enjoying a cocktail and lunch.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Cooking and Baking can be filled with failures as well as successes. Since most people (including myself) don't like to broadcast our failures, we don't share that particular recipe and go on with life like it never happened.

Sometimes I blame culinary mishaps on the elevation here in Denver.
Sometimes it's user error - like me not reading the recipe correctly.
And sometimes the recipe is just plain bad.

Every time I try a new cookie recipe, I need to remind myself to bake just one cookie the first go round to see how it looks. Not every recipe needs adjustments for altitude. But if I bake a whole tray and they do need a little somethin-somethin (like an extra 1/4 cup of flour), I have 12 sad, flat cookies that aren't always suitable for sharing. Sad, flat cookies still taste good. For sharing, I'd really prefer that they look as good as they taste.

This recipe is from the brilliant people at Cooking Light. I did have to add an extra 1/4 cup of flour after my first tray fell into the "sad, flat" category. Then they perked up into the tasty treats you see in the picture.

There aren't a lot of options when it comes to dried strawberries. I found a 3oz package near the craisins and raisins at King Soopers. I chopped them smaller than "coarse." I made a double batch of cookies, so I probably should have bought two packages. The cookies were still great, so I don't feel too sorry.

What You Do

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk. Place sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer; beat at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add vanilla and egg; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended. Add strawberries and chips; beat at low speed just until blended.

Not only are baking cookies and sending
them to complete (food-lovin' bloggin') strangers, all participants made a
donation to support Cookies for
Kid's Cancer in partnership with OXO.

Quick plug for another good cause....

Over on Traveler for Good, I'm participating in a travel blogger fundraiser called Passports with Purpose, raising money for water.org to build wells in Haiti. Tuesday, December 11, is the last day to make a donation with the chance to win a prize. For every $10 you donate, you can pick another prize you want to win. Good luck!

When Wisconsin came to Colorado in October, they brought cherry salsa from Weinke's Market in Door County. They also brought two bottles of Frozen Tundra white wine from Parallel 44 Vineyard. Oh Wisconsin, you have a soft spot in my heart. And my stomach. Hello, cheese curds?

In this recipe, you're just drinking wine, not cooking with it.

Here we go!

What You Need

1 cup crumbled, cooked breakfast sausage

1 package (8oz) of reduced fat cream cheese

1 cup shredded cheese of your choice, I used sharp cheddar

1/2 cup salsa - if you have Weinke's Cherry Salsa in your house you're a whole new level of cool

What You Do

Put all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 2-3 minutes. Stir every minute and when the cheese is melted and the dip is creamy.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

I posted this over on Traveler for Good on Wednesday. It's a great cause and a lot of fun. Why not share the love with food friends as well?

﻿

Passports with Purpose is here!

This year travel bloggers are helping to raise $100,000 to build wells in Haiti in partership with Water.org.

Access to safe drinking water is one of the most basic keys to good health. Right now, 780 million people, three times the population of the US, lack access to clean water.

In a world that can seem so connected and modern, it's sometimes easy to forget that the ability to drink a glass of clean water is not a guarantee.

If you're sick due to a water-borne illness or have to travel long distances to obtain water it's hard to

Go to work and earn a living

Go to school and get an education

Take care of your family

Spend time with friends and neighbors

Play sports or enjoy a hobby

Cook / Serve foods safely

You Can Help!
Click here to make your donation. The widget on the right column of this page will show you the progress we're making towards the goal of $100,000!

You Can Win a Prize!

The 2012 fundraiser with prizes started on November 27 at 11:59pm EST and ends December 11 at 11:59pm EST. During this time, if you donate $10 or more, not only will you feel warm and fuzzy about supporting a good cause, you will also have a chance to win a prize. A great prize. Most likely, a travel related prize.

In fact, every person blogging about Passports with Purpose has secured a prize. There's bound to be one that you'd be happy to win.

Including this great prize...

I live in beautiful Denver, Colorado.
If you live here, you know it's a great place.
If you don't live here, wouldn't you like to visit in 2013?

Enjoy the best of downtown Denver with Hyatt Hotels!

The Hyatt Regency Denver and the Grand Hyatt Denver each generously donated a one night stay just for Passports with Purpose. Read on to see what you could enjoy if you are the lucky winner.

I've stayed at both these hotels and enjoyed their service, restaurants and amenities. These are the hotels I recommend to friends and family when they come to visit or when they want to stay downtown or celebrate a special occasion.

These hotels are two blocks away from each other in downtown Denver and the winner will have a chance to stay at both properties. Or, if you're feeling generous, you could give one gift certificate to a loved one for the holidays, and still have one for yourself. Your call.

Photo Credit: Hyatt

One night weekend night stay at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center including breakfast for two. This Hyatt is right across the street from the Colorado Convention Center and one block away from the 16th Street Mall, within easy access to anything you want to do in downtown. Peaks Lounge on the 27th Floor has an amazing view of both the city skyline and the mountains.

AND

Photo Credit: Hyatt

One night weekend night stay at the Grand Hyatt Denver including Grand Club access. The Grand Hyatt just started a $28 million redesign that includes the guest rooms, lobby, and much of the meeting space. The renovation finishes in June 2013, so if you visit in the second half of the year, you'll enjoy a "Grand" new hotel! The Grand also introduced a new restaurant, Pub 17, in July of this year including a lot of locally sourced food and craft beers (this is Colorado, after all, and we're serious about our beer).

Whether you give the gift of water or win the gift of a Hyatt stay, thank you in advance for your enthusiastic participation and support of Passports with Purpose!

The fine print:The winner of this prize will receive two gift certificates by mail (they will arrive together in one envelope/package). Each stay must be booked following the directions on the gift certificate. Each certificate is good for a one (1) night weekend stay (includes room rate + tax). Parking and other incidental charges are not included. Certificates are not valid for December 31, 2012.Hyatt Regency Denver Certificate: Good for a weekend night accomodation and breakfast for two. Expires December 1, 2013.Grand Hyatt Denver Certificate: Good for a weekend night stay for two with Grand Club access. Expires December 15, 2013. *Passports with Purpose will determine and/or draw all the prize winners. As the writer of this blog, I am not involved in any of that, but my fingers are crossed that it's someone awesome, like you. Good Luck!*